People were asking so i thought i might aswell make a short post
EDIT: If you want to leave a comment asking a question that is fine but I need information to help you troubleshoot, such as, are you playing on the full game (have you bought it) or are you using the free version. Is it updated to the latest version, what ios/android version are you on etc. Most of the problems seem to be with the iPhone version because I haven’t seen many people with problems on android, if any at all.
Please note that multiplayer on the minecraft app is multiplayer ONLY over LAN. This means you CANNOT play online, only with a friend who also has the app and is connected to the same WIFI as you. Hope this clears some issues up 🙂
Also I have updated this post mentioning android as they are pretty much the same however they are different devices in the way they are programmed to run the app and so the problem might not be the game but compatibility with your android phone, to the minecraft app, to your wifi.
Hopefully that makes sense but I’m sure any problems with the app will be fixed in future updates (which is annoying because there are hardly any)
And I’m no android guru but I know my way around any phone as soon as I pick it up 😀
If your minecraft (pocket edition) multiplayer doesnt work, eg: you cant join a friends game:
•Go into options in the minecraft app and make sure it says server is always visible. This is set to the on position by default and you can also change this setting later through the pause menu in-game
•make sure that the iphones/ipods/ipads or android phones/tablets your playing on are connected to the same WIFI network
•update your game to the latest version via the app store or android market
•make sure each person has a different name
•you cannot play over 3G at the moment
•if your WIFI uses a network proxy with a login it wont work (thats how it is now and probably wont change in future app updates)
I will update the list as i find more possible problems
Any other unlisted or unfixed problems leave a comment or Email me and i will do my best to help you out 😀
stuff4free141 
what if I want to join a server that’s on the minecraft for computer?
Sorry I had to delete my last comment as I thought you were talking about the iPhone version.
To join on pc, open minecraft on your friends computer and go into multiplayer. Type in a name and your servers ip:25565 eg- ‘servers IPv4 here’:25565
I have a post dedicated to the pc version called how to setup a minecraft server on pc I think and there is a version where you need wifi and another where you don’t need wifi.
Here’s a link to the version where you need wifi: https://stuff4free141.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/how-to-set-up-a-minecraft-server-requires-working-internet-connection/
Sorry if I have confused you just click the link above an find the part about joining a game.
If the link doesn’t work you can find it pretty easy just by looking around the blog. I don’t have many posts so it shouldnt be too hard to find.
I was thinking about making a video explaining it of it still won’t work. Maybe if I get enough requests I will.
Once again thanks and comment if you have any problems 😛
I’m connected with the same Internet as my iPod Touch but when I make a server on my iPod my iPad can’t connect even its visible but when I use other wifi it works does anyone knows why
Hi, I read your post and It still didn’t work, I’ve been looking everywhere for a fix!
I am running an iPhone 4S and my bro is running a iPhone 3GS and it won’t find his name even though we are connected to the same wifi and all the steps listed above!
Please get back to me with a fix If you can!
Hmm not 100% sure. I would wait for an update as the 4S might not be 100% compatible yet. Also make sure in the pause menu your server is set to visible and you both have different names. Im not sure if that’s in the post I wrote but that’s all I can really think of. I have heard of other people having the same problem. I would keep on googling and see if u find anything. I’ll have a look around and let you know if I find anything though. You can also read the comments of the app on the app store to see if anyone else has had the same problem and has a fix for it. But I’ll have a look and post another reply If I find anything. Good luck 😛
Oh yea and I had a similar problem for a while but when i deleted and reinstalled the app it worked again 🙂
I have two brothers, they can play together but i can join rarly. One has an ipad mini the other has an ipod 4 and i have an ipad 2, i tried everything! I had minecraft for 1-2 years now and moltiplayer always worked fine but now about 1-2 weeks ago it stopped working what do i do?
Is it possible that one of you updated your minegraft app and that broke compatibility? Make sure everyone has updated to the latedt version, and if this started happening after an update and still won’t work then I would suggest you send an email to the studio developing the app, and leave a review describing the problem on the app store
it says that it wont work over 3G at the moment..
Every one has the same update, 0.8.1 (cuz we are all disparity waiting for the new 0.9.0 one) we use the same home wifi. They are even able to join each other, im rarely able to join them, and the can not join me. My moltiplayer server is on. I tryed everything but resetting my minecraft.
Go into options and there might be a slide saying server always visable make sure thats on on both of them and then one of them go and make a world when made the other one go on join game and it will say the other persons name press it and then the world will load and you will be playing with your freind
yes but thats always set to on by default but ill add it onto the post if its not already there 😀
Okay
I did all that’ it says and it won’t work my sis is using. A iPhone 4s and I’m using a iPad
What do you mean it says it won’t work, does it show a message or something? If it just won’t work, the main 3 things you should do is make sure your both on the same wifi network as it doesn’t work over your phone/iPad Internet plan if you have a sim card in it. Make sure your names are different. You can change this through the game settings. Also check in the app store that your minecraft is updated to the latest version. If all that doesn’t work, search for minecraft in the app store and under where the screenshots are, click on the “Reviews” button.
Write a review saying your problem clearly and the devices you are using, what version of iOS you are on,select an appropriate amount of stars to rate the app and click done to submit. Then hopefully, Mojang will see it and fix the problem in future updates.
Thanks
Have you both got the same wifi idont know if that helps but i have never done it on diffrent ones and it cant be 3g
People are saying that it works after they delete and reinstall it, will doing this delete my server?
If you are talking about the iphone/android version, then yes because instead of starting a server you open one of your maps so someone else can join. Those maps will be deleted if you re-install the minecraft app but they can be backed up onto a PC.
If your talking about the computer version of the game then the server files should be seperate from the game anyway. This is also where your multi player maps are installed so those shouldn’t be deleted either 😀
Nooooooooo if you have android you can reinstall freely with no issues Android is sooo much better :p
Yes sorry I forgot about that because on iPhone the world files are stored in the same directory as the app, so pretty much:
iPhone – reinstall minecraft and you will lose your maps
Android – reinstall minecraft and your maps will still be there
I dont support favoritism but… All hail android! 😀
I would like to play this with my son, he has an iPhone, and I have a PC. Can I run the server on my PC and have us both connect (me on the PC version, him on the iPhone version)?
Sorry, but as of this time you can only play phone to phone (iPod to iPod, etc).
Currently it doesn’t work cross platform, so you can’t play multiplayer from a mobile device with a PC. Hopefully they implement this soon but for that to happen, they’d have to update the mobile app with all of the same features as the PC version so It is more compatible and right now it is nowhere near there. Hopefully there will be updates in the future though!
Me and my sister both have the pocket additions on our iPads and we tried playing multiplayer and it doesn’t work. We have tried hitting the button at the same time, should we delete the app and then reunstall the app
Make sure your both connected to the same wifi network, and have different usernames in settings. Hope this helps! Let us know if there’s any other errors
Hi, my kids installed the new update for minecraft & although one ipad said they have joined the game the other ipad just stays on the screen that says locating server & doesnt move on from that screen. Is this due to the new update?
Thanks
Might be a problem with your wifi, try it at a friends house or make a local wireless with your phone or computer and see if the problem is still there. Also make sure they both have different usernames and are updated to the latest version of the game
yea I did everything you said but it still wont work. I think it still might have to do with the proxy server? Any suggestions?
If you connect to your wifi through a proxy server (with a school or work login) then unfortunately it wont work. If you just have a password on your home wifi though it will be fine as long as you entered the password when you first connected to it. Let me know otherwise :p
Listen dude I tried all of our facts and they don’t work at all for us! But here is the photo that is my problem that I was hoping you could of listed for me to fix my minecraft. the picture is the join game won’t work at all! Please help 🙂
What photo, bro? 😮
It won’t work we both have iPod touch 4g jailbroken with no hex editor or anything
We followed all directions and I have played a PE server b4
PLZ HELP
Do you know if any update will come for the iPod/iPhone that will allow me to play with friends from different Wifis?
Nah I doubt they will ever add it to the iPhone version, but if they do, it won’t be for a awhile.
How do i play on minecraft with friends on the app HEYZAP cause it says launch the game and then add the name how do you add someone to your game i have iphone
i got the full edition and my bro has the free one when he trys to connect to me it doesnt work why?
Need to be more specific with the problem bro. Does it say an error message or what happens exactly when you try and connect?
Make sure you’re both on the same wifi, make sure that your user names in the minecraft app settings are different for each person and if that doesn’t work try reinstalling the app
I can connect between my ipad and my iphone, no matter which one is running the server, but trying to connect with my S3 is a problem. The server shows up, but cant connect no matter which one is running the server, including the S3 itself.
I’d say that sounds like a bug with either the android version or the iPhone version. If you can play with two apple devices together, its probably the android app. I would go on the play store and write a review for the minecraft app, and/or email them and let them know the problem.
I would also try with an android phone other than the s3, to determine whether the problem is with the app or possibly with the s3
Try uninstalling the app on your S3 and re installing it.
(This won’t delete your maps)
I found out somewhere this is a problem with the trial version. After I upgraded to the full version on my S3, it connects to the iPad server just fine.
Yeah I thought there might be. They haven’t updated the demo/lite version in ages and probably won’t because they want people to buy the full version for all the features
I play with my friend same wifi and same game but i have the full version and she has the lite we cant connect why?
Not sure, need more information to troubleshoot the problem. Can you find the multiplayer game in “join game”, is the level you’re playing on set to discoverable/LAN? Are there any errors that come up, etc.
Also the lite version hasn’t been updated in months, I think it’s still on 0.2.0 or something like that, and the full version is now 0.5.0 so there might be a bug in the newer version
My son can play Minecraft Pocket Edition with friends at their house (their WiFi) but it doesn’t work at our house (with our WiFi). He & his friends have iTouches. They are logged into the same WiFi at the same time, sitting next to each other, & have different usernames. No error message appears at all. He simply cannot find his friend’s username, it doesn’t appear. It works at his friend’s house however. Help!
Sounds like a problem with your wireless router’s settings. Try making sure that your firewall and other protection is turned off, being careful as this can put your computers at risk of malware, viruses, etc.
Also, not sure if it will make a dofference but see if there is an option for Upnp and enable it if it isn’t already.
Other than that it may be a bug with the game, in which case you should state it as a review on the App Store, and try to contact mojang.
Also, do you have the full version of the game, or the free “lite”/”demo” one?
The demo/free version hasn’t been updated since last year, unlike the full paid one so it may be a problem with the old software, if you can afford to buy it, maybe see if you can try that.
Good luck c:
I had this problem too. Boys able to play at friends house but not at ours. Just phoned telecome and they have helped me to change the bandwith setting in the modem.
Our modem is a Thompsen and the bandwith was changed from 9 to 11 and now they are able to connect with each other. Thanks goodness for some peace now 🙂
What do u mean by login proxy?
A login proxy is used at places such as schools, where all students have their own account with a login username and password to access the servers.
These usually have restricted access and can’t usually/if at all, be used for wireless gaming.
If you’re on a home network though then you probably don’t have one
I’m having a problem connecting but it is router specific. On my friend’s wifi I cannot connect to my friend’s game, but at home I can, no problem. I’ve googled a bit and found nothing about which ports might need to be enabled on the router/firewall or anything even close to that. My friend’s wifi has WPA enabled (actiontec MIWR424 or something), both iPod and iPhone can connect to it no problems whatsoever. But they don’t see any minecraft servers, we’ve confirmed that the server is always visible, flipping it back and forth, etc. Same version of minecraft PE on both devices. At home it’s a different router of course (Netgear) and there is no WEP or WPA. That’s the one that works. I figure my friend could turn off WPA or fling all the ports wide open and it would work, but he doesn’t want to do that for obvious reasons. Any ideas on which router ports or what kind of protocol needs to be enabled on his router so the iPod/iPhone can talk to each other and we can play minecraft over LAN at his house?
Sorry I replied earlier but it doesn’t seem to have gone through.
I’d say it might be a problem with the minecraft app not being able to function through the password protected wifi at your friends.
I could possibly work if your friend turned off the WEP security on his router, but that’s probably not a great idea for obvious security reasons.
And I have no idea what ports the minecraft app uses.
Your best bet would probably be to contact the mojang team/whoever develops the minecraft app for them and see if they can look into it, because it seems more people are having the same problem.
I could be wrong about it being related to the security, but once again, it’s better to throw mojang an email and a review for minecraft on the App Store so that they can look into the problem.
The only bad thing about app bugs is that no one can fix them except the developers. Unless you somehow edit code with xcode and re compile it or something
Good luck c:
I am having the same trouble.
I suspect that this is something to do with bonjour protocol that might not be handled correctly by some routers so ios and android devices can’t find each other on a lan.
The best “fix” should be to have an option to enter IP manually, that should be easy for them to do.
Yeah that’s a good idea. Hopefully they will implement that soon. If you have an android device you can use an app (can’t remember the name right now) that modifies minecraft pe and allows you to manually specify an IP address. I haven’t tried it myself but I know the option is there. I doubt there is such an app for idevices, and if there was you would need to be jailbroken and get it through cydia.
I believe the next MPE update comes in April, so if you email mojang they should have time to add it, if not the update after
Both of my boys have identical iPads and are trying to join a game on minecraft with no success. They are able to join a shared game when they are visiting w grandma and are connected through her wireless, and they are able to join the same game using the school’s wireless, but when they are at home they have trouble seeing the other person’s game. (It just keeps “scanning for wifi games”. We just left my Mom’s and it was working and when we get home it’s a no go.
They r on under different names, their server’s are visible, and they are connected to the same wireless connection with no proxy. Any ideas for what else to try.
Try not running DHCP on your iPhone/iPad … use static IP-address … words excellent for my kids!!!
This might work too, and can be found in your wifi settings c:
Static IP may not work with everyone though, with all the different routers available
Thanks!
Hey there, thanks for the terrific write-up, it’s just a very good one. I am certain that I have got a great deal of family that might be interested in reading this. Many thanks!
Thanks for the great feedback 😀
It’s good to know I’m helping and making sense to people xD
Hopefully I’ll put up some more posts soon!
c:
I think the admin of this website is really working hard in support of his web page, because here every stuff is quality based stuff.
Thanks allot bro, i’m glad my posts are of good quality. I try my best to help people out when I can 😛
Your comments mean allot though 😀 it’s definitely hard when you’re in your last/senior year of school, doing a cert 4 at TAFE/college, and managing a blog at the same time, but I do as best I can to find time c;
Thanks again!
-Dan
I am having trouble. I currently have Minecraft PE full on my iPod. My bro has the demo on his htc android phone. When I make a game, the server shows up. However there is an error message. When I make the server visible, it deosn’t show up? I also got the demo on my iPod but nothing shows up
Hi!!! I have minecraft full edition on my iPod and my brother has the demo version on his tablet. I want to playultiplayer.both o our servers are visible and we have different names. I tried starting out in my world and having him try to join my world. My name shows up under the searching for wifi games page. He will try to click on it and it tells him it’s loading my world. But then it will stop and say unable to load server, it does this every time . So both of our devices are on the same wifi and both o our devices can see each others worlds under the loading wifi games page. Why won’t it work , why does it stop loading every time and say unable to load server??
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So does an iphone 4s play multiplayer with ipod 4th generation? Same wifi, updated game, updated iphone and ipod… Still doesn’t work -,- Help please i tried all your suggestions but i think i will wait for next update of the game right?
It should still work yes, I’m not sure when the next update is but you should definitely try to contact the developers of the app, whether that’s mojang I would find the email and tell them about the problem with the details of your devices. Maybe even point them to this part of the blog since allot of people seem to be having similar problems.
I’ll have a look for some ways to contact mojang or minecraft pe support and add it to the post.
Sorry I can’t help further but I can’t really update the app myself
Good luck c:
Our iTouch that used to work on multiplayer hasn’t worked since the iTouch software upgrade. Yes, the players are tapping into the same wifi, but it doesn’t work. Could it be that our router is too old for the software upgrade?
Hi, I’m looking for some tips.
My sons have Minecraft PE on their HTC Vivid smartphone and Nexus 7 tablet, both Android devices and both on our home WiFi. The son with the phone can search and find the worlds on the tablet, but the son with the tablet spends a lot of time searching for the worlds on the phone but that’s as far as it gets; it never finds the worlds on the phone. How can it only work one way? Is anyone familiar with these devices enough to know if there are settings I’m not seeing?
Sorry. I was checking back and just saw that this is an iPhone/iPod help page.
Oh yeah sorry about that, most if not all of the tips will work on android devices aswell, I need to change the title since its not really device specific with most of the app settings. Thanks for pointing that out c:
This helped ALOT !!!!
Thanks
Thanks, no problem, glad I could help 😀
Have purchased version of MineCraft PE on 2 nexus 7’s, an IPAD and an Itouch. The nexus have no problem connecting to each other but IPAD and Itouch cannot connect to anyone. They just continually look for a server. Have had 5 Android players on at one time. Have tried IPAD and ITouch within other networks and same issue persists. Have not tried static IP yet.
My kids each have a generation 4 iTouch with the Minecraft app. They could play Minecraft together on our WiFi for 11 months. But once my son did the software upgrade they could no longer play together.
When my son goes to a friend’s house he can play it with that friend on their WiFi. Both are using iTouches.
The same thing happens when I try to do it on my iPod
After working for month’s without problems, minecraft multiplayer game is not working anymore. I have tried connecting minecraft PE running on ipad1 and iphone 4s and the server list does not show up. They are on the same network, different usernames, no proxy, and mainly they did connect until a few days ago. I took the iPhone to a friends house and could connect there about 5 days ago and could connect. 2 days ago did the same and could not connect, unable to see server.
any thoughts.
Thanks for a detailed description. It was a big help. Fixed my prob.
I always spent my half an hour to read this webpage’s articles or reviews all the time along with a cup of coffee.
My friend sam wants to join my game and copy the world (I let him) but I won’t let him join my game why?were on the same wifi
Me and my brother were connected to the same wifi and both have minecraft pe and the thing in options that said visible be default I turned on and I went to one of my worlds and he went to multiplayer and we waited for hours and it never showed my name on his screen
I don’t play but my children do…I’m minecraft illiterate! They both have iPods on my account but can’t find each other, do I need them on separate accounts? They play on their Kindle’s but they are on different accounts on them. Does that make a difference?
Me and my brother have two iphone 4s and i we both have different names and i dided creative mode and my brother clicked the join button and it did not show my name and we have the same wifi?
Did you both buy the game, or are one/both of you playing with the free version?
Im tryin to play with my little cousin and shes on her ipod and im on my phone and we’ve been trying and trying to connect to eachothers game and its not working. Also, i have a question on the wifi thing so if we need to put in a password to connect to our wifi does that mean we can’t play minecraft together?? Do you understand what im saying?
Did you both buy the game or is one or both of you playing with the free version?
No a password shouldn’t affect it as long as you’re both connected successfully to the same network it should work, bug you need to buy the game since they haven’t updated the free version in months it probably won’t work 90% of the time
It didn’t work I want to play with my sister but it is supposed to say her name above world but it doesn’t and if I press it,it just says locating server. 😦
What devices are you using? Have you bought the game on both and updated to the latest version?
No
Hello! My name is Courtney and I have tried playing with my friend on minecraft-pocket edition lite and it still doesn’t work? I don’t know why? We are set up on the same wi-fi too. Can you help me?
Hi Courtney, this problem may be that you are using the free version of the game, which hasn’t been updated in months and months. Over a year last time I check intact. Id reccommend buying the full version or trying someone else’s who has the full version, and if that works then you know that is the problem. If you need you can have someone who has bought the game before log into your phone, and download it that way again for free using their account. Then you can just go back to your other account. Hope this helps
My kids’ iPods worked on other servers but couldn’t see each others games here at my house. All I did was turn off the router and back on and then it worked perfectly for them. Hope this helps others too.
I can’t even get pass the loading screen. I’m signed into game center, my wifi is on, my Minecraft or is open and so is my Game Center but I can’t get to the main screen to join a game, but when I’m signed out of game center. I go straight to the main screen, then I log in from there. But then when I push “join server’ it says I’m not logged in. So I restart the app and there I am again stuck on the loading screen
Sounds like a bug in the app, leave a review on the App Store explaining this and try to do the same with the company developing the app which may or may not be mojang I can’t remember, you might want to try reinstalling the game though that could help and if they don’t fix it, they will tell you to reinstall anyways
Can apple devices connect with Android devices for multiplayer?
Yup they can